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Monday, February 7, 2011

Life Lessons: Knitting

All that money spent on yarn has taught me at few things, at least...

Effort helps a ton, but doesn't guarantee great results. Sometimes, you'll pour your heart and soul into a project and end up with something so amazing and breathtaking that you're proud to say you made it. Other times, you'll get something you want to hide under the bed and pretend never existed.

Consider what you'll need before you get started. Running out of yarn and making a sweater with one half-sleeve isn't avant garde, it just makes you look silly and cold.

Nothing is permanent. Even the most awful projects can be ripped back and started fresh, or you could move on to something new.

Savor simple pleasures. Squishing skeins of yarn in my hands is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. It's ok to get excited about little things like that.

Even though you're fired up about a new project test the waters before you jump right in. All knitting patterns give an indication of gauge (how many stitches and rows per inch) so that you can knit a gauge swatch to make sure that the size you're knitting will actually fit a person, and not an elephant. Taking the time to knit that swatch can save you a boatload of time and frustration. Not that I've ever experienced this personally, of course...

Embrace "good enough." One fairly common "rule" of fixing knitting mistakes is the 20mph rule. Would someone driving by at 20mph notice the mistake? No? Then call it a design element and move on. If something truly bothers you, fix it, but don't worry about something just because